Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards. Reuters

Carrie Underwood’s performance at the 65th Primetime Emmys wasn’t exactly acclaimed, and Twitterati, in particular, were harsh on the “Before He Cheats” singer. Underwood sang “Yesterday” as a tribute to the Beatles, and the Los Angeles Times reported that it was one of the most tweeted-about moments of the night at nearly 18,000 posts per minute.

Six-time Emmy nominee Don Cheadle introduced the 30-year-old singer by tying together the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, whose 50th anniversary is approaching, and the Beatles' first performance on the “Ed Sullivan Show” a few months later in February 1964.

“That was the moment when the television generation came of age. More people got information from TV, such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic march. TV gave way to laughter from Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith and Lucille Ball — and soon after, they shared grief.”

“National tragedy gave way to another event, and a dark cloud was suddenly lifted, making it OK to experience joy again. Seventy-three million viewers [watching the Ed Sullivan Show] underscored the immediacy of TV and the impact on our society. TV has the power to engage, inform and unite. It remembers the past, celebrates the present and anticipates our future,” Cheadle said.

Twitter has become a notorious reaction forum, with thousands of people chiming in to share their opinions in 140 characters or less. "Carrie Underwood is guilty of murder. She just slaughtered "Yesterday." #Emmys," news anchor Jeremy Hubbard tweeted.

But even many reviled Underwood's rendition of the iconic song, Paul McCartney apparently gave the starlet the OK to go ahead with the cover. "The coolest thing about singing ‘Yesterday on the #Emmys is the sweet letter I got from @PaulMcCartney giving me his blessing to sing it!" Underwood tweeted. She hasn’t directly addressed the abuse she received for her performance.

Check out the “American Idol” winner's homage to the Beatles below:

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